Names
Earlier this week we did some writing about names. You listed different names you are known by, including: names used by family, friends, or teammates; your DJ or Twitter name; names associated with religions or cultures; nicknames; and formal names. You selected one of these to tell a story about and then we shared these.
After that we discussed the idea of names as used in the novel. We discussed Pi's actual name and where it is from, as well as his choice to re-name himself and why.
Animals
We watched several YouTube videos (selected by you) about animals. Then, you made a poster about an animal you selected. You highlighted several qualities about that animal for your poster, phrasing it in this format: "Be like a _____ / Always ______ / Never ______." See below for some examples of your work.
Then you selected passages from the book in which Pi speaks about animals and zoos. In our discussion of them we explored ways in which those ideas apply both to animals and to humans.
Religion
Focusing on chapters 15-25 we turned our attention to matters of religion. As a young man your age, Pi explored several different religions. Although he wrote about how "the world makes sense to [me] through Hinud eyes" (47) he also write about his passion for Islam and Christianity. In a confrontation between a priest, a pandit, and an imam, we saw how these religious leaders acknowledge Pi's devotion in their particular religion, then go on to say he needs to choose one of them because he can't have multiple religions. We read chapters 26 and 27 out loud, and saw his parents struggle with the same question. Pi doesn't see a problem with this - he "just wants to love God." We raised the question about what "religion" is, and how it is similar to / different than "beliefs."
